The Hours, The Minutes, The Seconds
by DeLaTARDIS
Summary: Set shortly after Father's Day, I think. Rose needs some Jackie time.  There's something wrong in London and every hour, every minute, every second, counts. What happens when the Time Lord runs out of time?
1. The Busy Streets of London Town

**Chapter 1 – The Busy Streets of London Town**

The first thing Rose noticed was the cleanliness. She had never lived in the nicest of places, but she knew the level of clean her Estate was capable of, and this was far beyond that. "Doctor?" she asked quietly. "Doctor, something's wrong."

"Yeah," he said. "We're far too close to your mother for my liking."

"No, Doctor. Look. Look at the Estate. No graffiti, no garbage, no broken beer bottles. It's too ... clean."

"Oh, Rose," he sighed, almost in mocking. "You're too paranoid. So the people of London decided to clean up for Christmas. Good on 'em. After the Slitheen, everyone knows aliens exist – well, the smart ones do, anyways. They probably want to make a good impression, should the aliens come knocking again." He grinned as Rose sent him a scathing glare.

After a moment, he sighed. "Okay," he said. "I'll keep an eye out. Anything to distract me from the wrath of your mother ..."

Rose grabbed his hand and smiled up at him. "Thank you. Now come on. If I know Mum, she'll have loads for us to do."

Everything was ... different. Rose had been gone for months, but it had only been 2 weeks for Jackie. Two weeks. Not enough time for all the changes Rose saw in the apartment.

Everything was in its place. All the walls had a new layer of paint. New carpets had been put in, no dishes were in the sink, and a new bookshelf stood tall in the living room, filled with How-To books worn with use and dog-eared paged.

"Mum?" Rose asked hesitantly. "What's -"

"Rose, it's so great to see you! D'you like the apartment? I've been working on it for more than a week – to surprise you for Christmas! Oh, before I forget, I've made you a list, I need some things. You don't mind, do you? 'Course not. Alright. Here's some money and the list. Thank you!" She exclaimed as she shoved them both out of the door, closed it and locked it.

Rose was stunned. "Did she just ...?"

"Looks like she doesn't want me here almost as much as I don't want to be here," said the Doctor with glee. "What d'you say, Rose? Trip to—"

"We're staying," she insisted.

"But Rooooseee!" he whined. "It's planet made of diamonds! Think of the things we could bring back for Jackie! We can be back in 5 minutes ..."

"I'm not taking the chance of you getting it wrong again and showing up in July. Besides, something is wrong here. We're staying," she said with finality, walking away.

"Alright, alright," he said, running after her.

Within minutes, The Doctor was lost. He and Rose had left the Estate, separated only by the little space they generally kept when they weren't holding hands. As soon as they had they'd gotten to the main road, Rose had been lost in the crowd.

"Rose?" the Doctor shouted over the crowd, looking for her bright blonde hair. "Rose? Rose Tyler!"

When he failed to get a response, he walked up to a booth where an older man sat, selling newspapers.

"What's going on here?" The Doctor asked. "Why is it so busy? It's late on Christmas Eve. Shouldn't everyone be home? Or, y'know ... Drunk?"

"Where've you been?" the man said, looking at the Doctor with a wary eye. "No one sleeps 'round here. Not anymore. They're all too busy."

"Busy with what? What can keep them so busy they don't sleep? Surely not the holiday ..."

"Well, I don't know! Stuff. Things they need to get done? I don't know, it's not me, is it? My daughter, though, and my granddaughter, Donna, they don't stop. I lie in bed, trying to sleep, they burst in, start cleaning, nag me for sleeping too much. I've given up. I came out here, see if I could sleep in my good ol' booth, but the crowds! It's like the whole world's gone mad!" he exclaimed.

_What else is new_, he thought. "When did this all start?" asked the Doctor.

"Oh ... Nine, ten days ago? Well over a week, anyways. I'd be sending them to the hospitals if the doctors weren't in the same state. Even the news – since they're working all day round – say coma patients are showing increased brain activity, say they're getting closer to finding cures for everything ... The whole world just doesn't stop."

"Ten days ..." the Doctor repeated. "And no one has slept since?"

"Not a wink."

_Well this'll be an interesting Christmas, _thought the Doctor. _Jackie Tyler, never sleeping._

"Ten days with no sleep. Great. I have twelve hours to save the city. Tell me, is this just London, or is it worldwide?"

"Oh, worldwide. No one gets a break."

"Even better. 12 hours to save the world. I'm the Doctor, by the way," said the Doctor, extending his hand for a handshake.

"Wilfred Mott. Wilf, for short," said Wilf, shaking his hand.

"Well thank you, Wilf. You'll rest well soon enough. Now I've got to go save the world!"

The Doctor turned just as the crowd pushed Rose right into him. "There you are!" she exclaimed. "I was looking all over for you. It's mad out here!"

He smiled down at her. "Come on, then. Let's get the stuff for your mother before she kills me. Besides, I've got one hell of a surprise for you, Rose Tyler."

"Danger?" she asked, grinning.

"Danger," he grinned back.


	2. Persistence and Evasion

Rose lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. In all the hustle and bustle preparing for Christmas, the Doctor hadn't had the chance to tell her of the danger he'd discovered. She was sure he would be telling her now, only he was insistent that she sleep. She could hear her Mum moving around, doing everything and nothing. The whole house was as clean as possible, but Jackie seemed to find something wrong with everything, something to fix.

Rose turned on her side and began to think of what could be going on, when she heard the sonic screwdriver in the next room. Well, if he could investigate, she could too. Quietly she opened her door, making sure her Mum was out of range, and snuck into the Doctor's room.

"Oi!" he exclaimed. "I could've been changing!"

"Into what? You never change! Anyways, I heard your sonic, genius."

"Oh. Well. Still. You should be sleeping." He turned back to the small device he held in his hands.

"Not happening." She sat on the bed next to him. She hesitated before asking quietly "Doctor? What's wrong with Mum? Why does she keep cleaning? She's finding anything to do, like she's avoiding something. This isn't the danger, is it? Aliens that, I don't know, break everything? 'S not ghosts, is it?" she asked, trying for a smile.

"I don't know." He stared intently at the device, evading Rose's gaze.

"Doctor." When he didn't respond, she pushed his arms down. "Doctor," she said with more force.

"Look, Rose, I just need time to work it out."

She sighed. "If you're not going to let me help you, just tell me this. Whatever this is, this … _thing_. Is it affecting my Mum? Is it hurting her?"

The Doctor looked at her with sad eyes. As he opened his mouth to speak, it seemed an idea dawned on him. His face went from sad to shocked to terrified. "Rose," he said in an urgent manner. "Rose, why aren't you sleeping?"

Taken aback, Rose replied "I dunno. Just couldn't sleep, I guess. Too worried about Mum …"

The Doctor took Rose's face into his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. Rose sat as still as she could, not sure what he was doing. With every second of his intense stare she grew more nervous. "Doctor?" she asked quietly and shakily.

He broke his gaze with a shake of his head and Rose let out a long breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Doctor?" she asked again, when her voice was steadier. "What was that about?"

He'd gone back to examining his device. "Nothing. Just making sure."

"Making sure of _what, _exactly?" When he didn't respond, she stared at him, trying to channel the intensity of his gaze. "Doctor," she said. "Will you please-" When her voice broke, she cleared her throat and started again. "Will you please tell me what is going on with my mother?"

He stopped sonicing the device and slowly lowered it from his gaze. He looked at her with a sadness that broke her heart, a sadness she may never understand. He took a breath and began to speak.

"Rose, I—"

Jackie chose that precise moment to knock loudly on the door. "If you two aren't going to sleep, you can get your lazy arses out here and help me."

Rose, looking at the Doctor with tears in her eyes, stood up slowly and began to walk out. The sadness in her face, in her eyes, broke his hearts as he watched her go.

*—-*

The Doctor looked up at the TARDIS and sighed. "Alright, old girl, what mess have you brought us into this time?" He felt her humming innocently in the back of his mind. Whatever had happened here, they'd simply stumbled upon it. It was 3 a.m. – that gave him roughly 7 hours to figure out what was going on before Jackie lost her life from lack of sleep.

He thought of Rose's face as she'd left his room last night. He sighed. He'd wanted to sneak into her room, to make sure she was sleeping, but he couldn't risk Jackie seeing him; frequently distracted as she was, he knew it wouldn't stop her from slapping him. Walking over to the console, he looked at the screen and started thinking. "Don't suppose it's airborne?" The screen went through an air analysis, finishing with a ding. "Didn't think so," he said. "So Rose is safe – for now."

Sitting down, he began to think. As he went through the galaxies, the planets, the creatures of the universe in his mind, he realized how hard his was alone. Rose always made it go faster, she always had _just_ the right fact, the right question. _Maybe I should go get her_, he thought. _She'd want to help, and I know I need it …_

He stood up and headed for the door. With his hand on the handle, he paused. Would she still want to help? Figuring this out determined whether or not her mother would live. Could she handle this?

He smiled. Of course she could. She was Rose Tyler. Rose Tyler faced a Dalek alone. Rose Tyler escaped from The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarosenfoe, and got him out, too. His Rose Tyler could handle anything.

The Doctor walked out onto the busy streets and went to find Wilf Mott. If he was going to bring Rose into this, he needed to know what he was dealing with.


	3. Seven Hours

**Chapter 3 – Seven Hours**

Bleary-eyed, Rose lifted her head to find out what had awoken her. After a moment, her brain processed the rhythmic knocking at her door and her mother on the other side shouting, "Rose! Come on, get up. I didn't stay up all night for you to lie in bed all day. Come on, up you get. I'll get breakfast."

Rose glanced at the clock on the table. 5. It was 5 a.m. "Mum! It's five in the bloody morning! I'm going back to sleep."

"Bloody right grace you are in the morning, aren't you?" Jackie walked away, muttering to herself.

Instead of sleeping, Rose lay her head down and sighed. All night, her mother had said. Had she really not gone to sleep? Jackie Tyler had never been known to miss sleep over anything – except her daughter. If she hadn't been sleeping ...

She remembered last Christmas. Just Jackie, Rose, and Mickey. Before The Doctor, before aliens, before Rose had put a distance between herself and them. Was that what it was? Was it her fault she was like this?

_Maybe, _Rose thought. _Maybe if I stay for a little while, let her know I'm still her daughter. She needs me._

She sniffed and brought her sleeve to her eyes to wipe away the tears she hadn't meant to cry. Sighing, she slowly got up. She suddenly felt cold and disgusting. Grabbing a towel, she went to the bathroom for a hot shower.

Jackie Tyler stood in the kitchen cooking eggs and bacon, with toast in the toaster and tea in the teapot. She heard the shower start and smiled to herself. She knew Rose would want to be up.

She took a tray of food to the Doctor's room. Whatever he said, the man needed to eat. She knocked and opened the door to find the bed empty. Sighing, she closed the door, balancing the tray on her knee. Putting in on the table, she went to the bookshelf, took out a book on how to learn German, and sat down to read it while she waited for her daughter to come out of the shower.

When she heard Rose come out of the bathroom, she shouted "Breakfast is getting cold, sweatheart. And where's that man of yours?"

From down the hall, Rose shouted back "He's not mine."

Jackie rolled her eyes and turned back to her book. When were those two going to admit it? It's not like they were hiding it all that well ...

Rose could hear her mother shouting at her, but she wasn't really listening; not until she heard the words "Where's that man of yours?" Her heart stopped. Had he left her?

Slowly she remembered their conversation last night, how angry she was at him, how hurt. Realizing the growing silence she'd left following her mother's question. "He's not mine," she shouted back, pretending it meant nothing to her.

She walked back into her room and got dressed quickly, suddenly realizing how famished she was. She was going to have a nice Christmas with her mother, Doctor be damned.

Wilf Mott sat in his booth, closed down, snoozing in his chair, when he heard a loud rapping on the outside. He quickly unwrapped himself from his blanket, taking off his gloves to open the top window.

"Oh, hello. Doctor, was it?"

"Yep, that's me, Wilfred Mott. I," he emphasized, "Need to ask you a few questions."

Oh, yes, sure. Just ... Gimme a minute, I'll let you in, get you off the streets there." Wilf quickly threw his blanket into the corner and opened the door. The Doctor ducked inside, peering around the small room. "Sorry it's so small. It's usually just me in here, not used to guests. Tea?" Wilf held up a thermos.

"No thanks," The Doctor declined. "Look. This is important, this is _very_ important. I need to know everything you remember from 10 days ago."

Wilf looked surprised. "Oh. Well, let's see then. Night before, I was up on the hill, looking at the stars, like always. Everything was normal until ..."He drifted off.

"Until _what_?" the Doctor pressed. "Wilfred, what happened?"

"Well ... I saw this star, only it wasn't a star ... It got bigger as I was looking at it, thought it was a meteorite, only it was purple. This perfect shade of purple. Don't remember much after that, really. Woke up in bed, assumed it was all a dream."

"Purple ..." the Doctor muttered. "What happened after you woke up?"

"Oh. Nothing, really. Sylvia – that's my daughter, Sylvia – woke me up so we could finish Christmas shopping. Even let me sleep in half day, wasn't noon 'til she got me up. After that, it was like nothing was moving fast enough, everything had to be done right away. Been like that ever since. Donna, too, then everyone. That's about all I know, really. Sorry I can't help much, Doctor."

The Doctor grinned in response. "You've helped plenty, Wilfred Mott."

As he left, the Doctor looked up at Big Ben. The minutes were ticking down, and if he didn't find out what was going on soon, the entire world's population would die. He picked up his pace; he needed to find Rose.


	4. Convincing the Determined

**Chapter 4 – Convincing the Determined**

As Rose and her mother walked down the street, she thought to herself how nice this was. Just the two of them in town – busy as it was. They'd even made plans to meet up with Mickey for lunch. At the same time, though, she couldn't help but think about the Doctor. It was 10 in the morning – they'd left the presents unopened, as he hadn't shown up – and since they hadn't heard from him, they'd headed out. It didn't seem the slightest bit odd to Jackie that all the shops were open – everyone seemed very keen to work.

Trying to pull herself together as Jackie dragged her into yet another store, Rose realized that she had nothing to say that her mother could relate to. Rose had been to so many places, seen so many things, and the only person she could talk to anymore was the Doctor. She could say things to her mother, yes, but she was just coming to understand that most of what she said just made Jackie sad. Here was her daughter travelling to places unheard of, while she stayed at home, drinking tea and watching telly. What sort of life was that by comparison?

At that moment, Jackie walked out of the dressing room wearing a silver and gold sequence top. Rose burst out laughing. "You look like a bloody Christmas tree! Where's the angel, then?"

"I guess it is a bit silly, isn't it?" She looked in the mirror and smiled. "Still. I need some new clothes. Howard's been coming round, and I'm always wearing jogging kits. 'S not nice, y'know?"

Rose smiled at her mum. "Yeah, I know."

As the Doctor got to the door of Jackie's flat and tried the doorknob. Locked. He sighed and leaned his back against the door, sliding to the floor. _Figures_, he thought. _She's never where I need her to be. _He quickly pushed that thought from his mind. He could talk.

Time was running out, though. He had two hours before the human race would begin to die, and he could do nothing without Rose. Oh, sure, his mind was bursting with ideas, but there was no finality to his thoughts. Without someone to help him narrow down his ideas, it could be anything. Maybe it was the Harcoss; they used mind control to get their slaves to build their empires. Could it be the Alpo? They'd been known to hypnotize ...

_With all these ideas, it might as well be Voldemort using the Imperius Curse._ He stood up and started pacing. An hour and fifty minutes. He needed to figure this out now. _Well. If I know the Tyler women, I'm going to find them at the mall._

Rose was just being dragged into her mother's favourite stars, lost in her thoughts, when she heard Jackie say "Oh, look who decided to grace us with his presence." Rose could feel the annoyance emanating from her mother. If the Doctor noticed this, he didn't act like it. She'd wanted a day alone with her daughter, since she got so few.

"Rose, I need to talk to you," he said in a rush. "It's ..." He glanced at Jackie. "It's important."

"You take her away for so long," cried Jackie. "Can't we have _one_ day, just me and my daughter? No aliens, no near-death experiences, no ... Doctor," she said, emphasizing her disgust in his name.

"Jackie, you're already – I can't – It's _important!_" He grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her aside.

"Finally gunna let me in on it, then?" Rose asked with a dark glare.

"I know, I know, but listen. We need to get your mother home and into bed as soon as possible. I'll explain when she's safe."

Rose glared at the Doctor for a moment longer, then cleared her throat. "Okay."

_That, _he thought, _that is why I love Rose. That is why she is my Rose. She always knows what to do._

Within half an hour they were back at the Powell Estate, the Doctor having put Jackie to bed. It's been a hard task, getting her there, but once they had, the Doctor put her into a false sleep. He knew it would do her no good – she'd still die if he didn't figure this out in time – but, if he was honest with himself, Jackie Tyler was the least of his worries. Besides, he'd have Rose's full concentration now.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on now?" She looked up at him from the kitchen table where she sat, sipping her tea. He sighed at the sight; so normal, so human. So Rose.

"You noticed it first, you tell me." She looked confused. "Something is wrong here," he elaborated. "Everyone is working hard, without break, and not sleeping. The human body can last 10 days without sleep ... They die on the 11th."

As he watched, a look of understanding and shock came over her face. "But Mum said ... She said ..."

"Ten days," he finished for her.

Rose's eyes grew and her breathing became forced. "You put her to bed, though. She'll be okay, right?"

"Your mother ..." The Doctor hesitated. "Your mother will be just fine, Rose. I promise."

"And everyone else?"

"That's why I need you." A shiver ran down her spine as he said this.

"How long have we got?"

"An hour and a half," he grinned. "Rose Tyler, we have an hour and a half to save the human race."


	5. The Little People

**Chapter 5 – The Little People**

Mickey Smith sat at a table in the middle of a chip shop, waiting for his girlfriend and her mother. He never got to see Rose, not anymore. Not since that Doctor took her away. Since then, he'd only seen her once – after a year of her missing. He understood, sort of – who would choose him over a life of time and space travel? – but he was still hurt. He was fighting a losing battle, and they all knew it. He laughed to himself. Figures he'd lose this battle to a man twice Rose's age...

Looking at his watch, he glanced longingly at the people around him eating. _Well_, he thought. _I'm sick of waiting. _He got up and ordered his chips, deciding it wasn't worth it to stick around. Outside the wind blew cold and harsh, but Mickey decided he needed to take a walk. He zipped up his jacket, tightened his scarf around his neck, grabbed his chips, and walked out the door.

Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North, running for Prime Minister, sat in her office looking over paperwork. She knew what was wrong here, and she knew who could help, she just didn't know how she could reach him. Sighing, picked up her phone and dialled a number all too familiar for her liking.

"Hello, St Mary's Hospital."

"Hello, this is Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."

"... Yes, I know who you are."

"Room 713, please." She waited a moment until she heard the other end pick up. "Hello, Mum. I called to say goodbye."

Adam Mitchell sat in his room, staring at the wall. He'd been counting down, and he knew what was going to happen if the world didn't sleep soon. He briefly thought that this couldn't happen, but he pushed it away, remembering the Doctor's words – Time can be rewritten.


	6. It's A Mad World After All

**Chapter 6 – It's a Mad World After All**

The Doctor and Rose headed back to the TARDIS, the Doctor hesitant and yet longing to close the wide space between them. Rose had made it clear in her tones that she was still mad at the Doctor for keeping her out of the loop, so he picked up the pace; the faster he got to the TARDIS and explained, the sooner he'd get his Rose back. He hated not having her trust him, hated the joy missing from her expression.

He glanced sideways at her, and though her eyes burned with anger, if you knew her well enough – and the Doctor knew he did – you could see the curiosity, the longing for adventure.

Opening the TARDIS doors, they stepped inside and the Doctor walked up to the console as Rose remained by the doors. Neither was sure where to start, so the Doctor mustered up all his courage and blurted out, "Rose, I need your help."

He saw the change in her eyes immediately, but she didn't act on it. "I kinda figured that," she replied, taking slow steps towards him. "Straight to the point, then? We're looking at," she looked at her watch, "70 minutes. So go on, tell me what you need."

"Well, I ..." He stopped at looked her in the eye. "First of all, I need you to trust me again. I know I should've told you that I was trying to figure this out, but ..." He trailed off.

"But what, Doctor?"

"But ... I needed to know that you could help me with sound mind. You humans, as soon as you have something to lose, you panic. You rush into the nearest answer and grab hold for dear life. Don't try to deny it; I usually _am_ that answer. I needed to make sure you were calm enough to make the right choice, to find the right answer."

"Oh, so suddenly I can't make sound decisions? First time we met, I found the transmitter. I saved your life from the Living Plastic. When we met the Slitheen, you were ready to face death. I was the one who suggested we hide in the cupboard, and look! We made it out alive! And the Dalek? What about the Dalek, Doctor? I faced that Dalek, faced it as it told me it would exterminate me. I got back to you, I kept it from killing us. You pointed a gun at it, at me. So don't you dare, Doctor, don't you _dare_ say that I can't make sound decisions."

The Doctor stared at her, stunned. In two minutes, she had summed up everything he had ever loved about her, where he had spent days, weeks, months even, trying to find the words, trying to make it make sense. Within seconds he was in front of her, grasping her hand with the grip he needed to assure her of words he couldn't say, and the tenderness he needed to show her everything he wanted to – but couldn't – give her.

"I know, Rose. I know you can. That's why I need you."

She looked at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "Okay. How long've we got now?"

The Doctor smiled down at her. "Well, Rose. One hour. 60 minutes. 3600 seconds. Are we just going to sit here, or are we going to save the human race?"

Rose beamed back up at him. "Let's go save us some humans!" she yelled.

After 40 minutes, they'd narrowed it down to 3 systems: The Ratoris, the Honglomis, and the Trixaforpolo. With 20 minutes left, Rose was rushing. She'd only been here for a day and a half, hadn't exactly seen a lot.

"OH!" Rose exclaimed. "I've got it. They think their sleeping."

The Doctor looked at her for further explanation.

"I was never good at Biology, but I always remembered that when people sleep, their eyes move – What's it called? R-E-something ..."

"REM!" the Doctor shouted. "Rapid Eye Movements! Of course! Rose that's fantastic! That isolates it to the Trixaforpolo System. And going by every other symptom, that narrows it down to ... KASHAZABETH! That means—" The Doctor broke off.

Rose looked at him. "Doctor?" she asked. "What does it mean?"

"It means ... The Siacoe are the inhabitants of the planet Kashazabeth. Well. They call it their home planet. If you go into the technicalities, they don't _have _a home planet, they-"

"Wait-" Rose interrupted. "Psycho? That's appropriate ..." She smiled at him.

"No, Rose. Siacoe. Sigh-Ah-Co. They're ... Well, they're an invasive species. People say they were one of the first – or they're the reason there are none left from before them. They feed off of energy – whatever is the greatest they can find; in this case, the human brain. It may not be the strongest, but think about it. It's the one thing that doesn't stop. You can turn out a light, but you can't stop a human thinking until they're dead. They ..." He sighed. "They get into a planet and immediately issue an order for atmospheric lockdown. No one in the entire universe can detect that this planet is at risk of total Genocide."

"So ..." Rose said slowly. "No one can help us."

"Nope, it's down to us. We're going to bring down a race that has never been defeated."

"Well how do we stop them? We don't know anything about them. We don't know what hurts them, anything about their biology ... You're the Doctor. How do you diagnose your patient without examining them?"

"That's a good question, Rose. There's also this: This creature isn't airbourne, but it spreads like wildfire. Everyone should have it. So why is it, Rose Tyler, that neither you nor Wilfred Mott have been infected?"

Rose's eyes widened. After a moment, she timidly said, "Let's go find out?"


	7. The Doctor Discovers

**Chapter 7 – The Doctor Discovers**

Rose was terrified with what the Doctor had said. What set her apart? She time-travelled, that obviously made her different, but even normal, everyday people were being spared the torture – she assumed it was torture; working all your energy away couldn't be any roller coaster ride – so what set _them_ apart?

_Something's coming,_ she thought. _Something bad._

The Doctor moved around her, flipping controls and looking at the controls, trying to get more information from the TARDIS. He murmured "Come on, old girl" frequently and patted the controls to try to coax her into giving him something. Rose stared straight ahead until she heard the Doctor ask if she was alright.

"Yeah," she said, giving him a bright smile. After a moment, however, her smile faltered. "Doctor, how do we stop this? Even you said they'd never been defeated. I'm not doubting you, but ... How many people can we save?"

He looked at her for a moment, then grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the TARDIS, closing the door behind him.

"Doctor?" she asked. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to talk to one."

When they arrived back at Rose's flat, Jackie was right where they'd left her. She hadn't moved an inch.

"That's odd," Rose commented. "She's usually thrashing about in her sleep."

"False sleep. Amongst other things, it suppresses their nerve system. This brain, apart from vital tasks, is shut down. We're killing whatever is inside her head! I didn't even realize!" The Doctor grinned madly at Rose.

"So ... What now? We ... zap it out of her?"

"You're funny," he said, leaning down to look at Jackie's face. In a much more serious tone, he said, "I demand to speak with the Siacoe invading this body." When Jackie showed no response, he tried again. "I know what you are. You're the Siacoe, and you are dying inside this body. You're dying, slowly and painfully. Answer my questions, and I'll put you out of your misery."

Slowly, Jackie's eyes opened. Rose gasped; Jackie's eyes were red, the scleras violet. Her voice sounded scratchy and rough as she said, "How do you know of us?"

"Let's just say I've been around. Thing is, you've killed millions of races. There was no such thing as an abandoned planet until you came along, and you're old. Been working on the Solar System for quite a while, though, haven't you? Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Why you left Earth for last, I can only imagine, but the point is that you're in a place I love all too much, you're threatening an incredibly important race, and I'm here to save this one, so I'm going to need to know how to stop you."

Jackie let out a laugh that sounded almost like a roar. "You think that you can defeat us?"

"Of course I do," he said, nonchalantly. "I'm the Doctor. I _know_ I can defeat you, I think you'll just make my life – and yours – a hell of a lot easier if you answer me some questions. First, can you take physical form?"

After a moment of hesitation, the same scratchy voice answered "No. We must rely on the shape of others to communicate with other life forms. With each other, we share selective telepathy."

"Alright, then. With that in mind, why don't you tell all your little friends to leave this planet? What you may not have realized when you invaded this planet, was that it is protected. People around here, they know what's going on, they just don't know what to do about it. Fortunately for them, and unfortunately for you, I do."

"Do your worst, Doctor. We will not leave."

"Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you." He pointed his sonic screwdriver at Jackie's head, and she screamed and writhed in pain. "Another thing. Why are there people not being infected?"

Gasping for breath, the creature answered "They're feeding The Ally."

"The Ally? What's that supposed to mean?" When he got no response, he sonicked Jackie's head again.

As she screamed in pain, Rose gasped. "You're hurting her!" she screamed.

The Doctor glanced quickly at Rose. He wanted to hug her, but he needed to get this done. "It's not affecting her, I promise." He looked back at Jackie, trying not to sigh with frustration. "WHO ARE YOU WORKING WITH?" he yelled.

"Oh, but you know him, Doctor, from long ago. You don't know him as he is now, though. He no longer uses his old tactics. He is no longer ... The Piper."

The Doctor gasped and quickly skidded backwards. Rose, startled, grabbed his shoulders, and whispered in his ear, "What does he mean? Who's The Piper?"

"The Pied Piper," he whispered back. "Not the real thing, not really, but it's this creature –this energy entity – that feeds on fear ... I knew him in my first me, my original me, before all my regenerations ... It has a tendency to take on form of The Pied Piper, so it's known to the Universe as The Piper."

"So ... That's why I'm not infected? It's feeding off of the fear in my head?"

"Oh yes, and can you imagine? The world is in crisis. People are watching their families die ... Who isn't scared? It's a feeding frenzy." In a moment, he was back by Jackie's side, demanding "TELL ME HOW TO STOP YOU!"

Jackie laughed as her eyes slowly slid shut. As she lay back on her pillow, a purple smoke seemed to emit from her ear and dissipated. "It's dead," Rose whispered.

"Yes," the Doctor sighed. "Now we just have to know how to kill the rest of them."


	8. Ten Minutes

**Chapter 8 – Ten Minutes**

The Doctor stood up, frustration and anger clear on his face. He looked at the clock on the wall. "Ten minutes ..." he muttered. He began pacing, Rose watching him with worry. "Rose," he asked, "are you scared?"

Rose stared at the Doctor for a long moment. "Of course I'm scared! The whole bloody human race is about to die unless we do something!"

The Doctor came over and knelt beside Rose, grabbing her shoulders and looking her right in the eye. "Rose, I know how hard this is, and I know that this is an awful thing to ask, but I need you to not be scared. You're feeding it. The one in Jackie died because we cut off its food supply, and we need to do that for everyone else. Remember the Dalek? You were scared, but you were so _brave_. That's what we need now, because bravery will override the fear. We're going to win this, Rose, but I need you to be my brave Rose Tyler."

Rose glared at the Doctor. Was he really comparing this to one single stinking Dalek? Yeah, she had been scared, but it would've only been her own live taken, not 99% of the Earth's population. The fear then was nothing to what she was feeling now. She was on the verge of losing her whole world. Nonetheless, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Tell me what I need to do."

He grinned at her, pride evident in his eyes, before sobering his expression. "This isn't going to be possible worldwide – in fact, I'll be amazed if you get anybody in London to do it – but I need you to try to get as many people inside as possible. The screwdriver is set at a high pitched frequency, that's what made your Mum fall asleep. I've got to find a radio tower – something to boost the signal worldwide. Once they're asleep, it should only be a few minutes, and the Siacoe should be gone."

Rose nodded her head and bit her lip. "Doctor? Aren't they going to need to sleep for a while after this? I mean, their bodies are so weak ..."

"Yeah, they will. There's not a lot we can do for most of them, but we have to help the ones we can." He glanced at his watch. "Are you good with this? We have a few minutes." He grinned as she nodded her head. "Rose? Be careful." And with that, he ran off in the opposite direction.

Looking around, the street was littered with people here and there; she had found herself on a strangely empty one. Walking up to the nearest person, she tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, an annoyed look on his face. "Excuse me?" she asked, shyly, not quite sure how to explain herself. "I think you'd better get inside. Maybe get some rest? You look a little tired."

The man rolled his eyes. "I don't have time to rest. And who are you to tell me I look tired? You don't know me!" He walked away. Well. That had gone well. She sighed. Looking around, she wondered if it might be better for her to make a full announcement, not just a one-on-one conversation. Finding a wooden crate on the street corner, she dragged it out a bit further and stood on top.

"Attention citizens of London. You have not slept for 10 days. I feel it is my duty to inform you that this is bringing you onto the brink of death. I have a ... Friend, who is about to induce a false sleep on the planet." It suddenly occurred to Rose that she would be subjected to this false sleep as well. She pushed aside the thought. She could use a bit more sleep, anyways. "This is going to help you," she continued, decidedly not going into detail. "So do yourself a favour, and be prepared. Find somewhere to lie down. Make yourself comfortable." She stopped. She had managed to get everyone's attention, but not in the way she had hoped. Now the crowd was looking at her with red eyes and violet scleras. The group was moving towards her, and she had nowhere to run.

"Come on, Doctor," she whispered. "Come onnn ..."

She glanced at her watch, and it was a minute and ten seconds until it was all over for everyone. She watched the seconds hand tick away, and then everything went black.


End file.
